Realism and the Novel
A Global History

The realist novel is a global form, both in its origins and in its reach, that remains vital even today.

Paul Stasi (Author)

9781009296885, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 19 June 2025

482 pages
23.5 x 16 x 3.4 cm, 0.87 kg

Realism and the Novel combines arguments about realism's emergence in the European eighteenth and nineteenth centuries with essays on its persistence throughout the world and into the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Moving away from a diffusionist account of culture – one where the realist novel is understood to have an autonomous national development in the West that then spreads across the globe – Realism and the Novel focuses, instead, on the ways the relationship between center and periphery informs both realism's origins and its continued relevance. At the same time, this collection takes seriously the semi-autonomy of literary form; the realist inheritance is not only an imposition. Rather, in its multiple incarnations, the realist novel has shown itself to be an exceptionally varied and multi-faceted form for representing the disparate social worlds of imperial modernity.

Introduction: Realism and the Novel: A Global History Paul Stasi
Part I. The Realist Novel: A Timeline: 1. The eighteenth century Rebekah Mitsein
2. The nineteenth century: England Ann Kornbluh
3. The nineteenth century: France and its colonies Jennifer Yee
4. The nineteenth century: America Mika Turim-Nygren
5. Realism and modernism Paul Stasi
6. Post-1945 realisms Matthew D Miller
Part II. Realism's Keywords: 7. Realism and the nation Patrick Parrinder
8. Realism, liberalism and the subject Carolyn Lesjak
9. Realism and sentiment Ulka Anjaria
10. Realism and gender Ronjaunee Chatterjee
11. Realism and race Rita Barnard
12. Realism and sexuality Heather Love
Part III. Forms of Realism: 13. Realism and naturalism Andrew Hebard
14. Magical realism Tavid Mulder
15. Socialist realism Evgeny Dobrenko
16. Proletarian realism Barbara Foley
17. Capitalist realism Mathias Nilges
Part IV. Locations of Realism: 18. African-American realism Kenneth W. Warren
19. Asian-American realism Christopher T. Fan
20. Chicano/Latinx realism Nicole Eitzen Delgado
21. Russian realism Priscilla Meyer
22. Realism and Ireland Mary Mullen
23. Latin American realism Kyle Proehl and Neil Larsen
24. Caribbean realism Michael Niblett
25. Realism and the African novel Josh Jewell and Madhu Krishnan
26. Realism and the South Asian Novel Pranav Jani
27. Realism and the Chinese novel Martin Huang
28. Realism and the Arabic Novel Raya Alraddadi
29. Realism and the Israeli novel Oded Nir.

Subject Areas: Literary theory [DSA]